‘No plaster, pay for it’: Thane Hospital staff use cardboard on patient’s fractured leg; suspended

Ram, a resident of Beturkarpada in Kalyan, was rushed to the hospital on Thursday afternoon after injuring his leg.

For Ram Soni, a trip to a civic hospital after a leg injury should have ended with a plaster cast. Instead, the patient walked out with pieces of discarded cardboard strapped to his fractured leg, an alleged shortage of plaster of Paris (POP) at the KDMC-run Rukminibai Hospital in Dombivli leaving his family stunned, resulting in outrage among local residents.

Hospital said its inquiry found that the hospital had sufficient medical supplies and blamed a sanitation worker for allegedly demanding money from the patient’s family. (Pexel)

Ram, a resident of Beturkarpada in Kalyan, was rushed to the hospital on Thursday afternoon after injuring his leg.

X-ray confirms fracture

An X-ray confirmed the fracture. But when his son Abhay took him to the dressing room, the family was allegedly told that plaster was unavailable and that they would have to pay to procure it from outside if they wanted his father’s leg plastered. “When I took my father to the dressing room, the staff informed us that plaster was not available. They told us that if we wanted my father’s leg to be plastered, we would have to pay ₹800 for purchasing four plaster rolls from outside. However, if we paid the staff, they would provide them for ₹100 each. When I could not pay the money, the staff placed discarded cardboards on my father’s fractured leg and wrapped it with a cotton bandage,” Abhay said. The incident came to light after a video showing the cardboard being used to support Ram’s fractured leg went viral, prompting political leaders and residents to question the functioning of KDMC-run hospitals.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) corporator Ganesh Landge, who visited the hospital after the incident, alleged that KDMC spends crores of rupees on medicines and medical equipment for patients, yet hospital staff are allegedly demanding money from them.

“The staff treating the fracture first told him that plaster was not available at the hospital and later asked him to pay ₹100 each for four plaster rolls, totalling ₹400, saying the same rolls would cost ₹200 each if purchased from outside,” Landge said.

He warned that the MNS would launch a major protest if the civic administration failed to improve the condition of its hospitals within a week. “If the KDMC administration fails to improve the condition of its hospitals within a week, MNS will organise a major protest and lock the Shastri Nagar and Rukminibai hospitals,” Landge said. Former corporator and Congress leader Navin Singh also blamed the civic administration for the state of KDMC-run hospitals.

“The commissioner and the leaders of the KDMC have totally failed to manage the hospitals and fulfil their administrative responsibilities. Whether it is negligence in hospitals or the stray dog menace in the city, the administration has failed. The commissioner, along with the mayor and other leaders in power in the KDMC, must resign,” Singh said. MNS chief, Kalyan, Harshad Patil, said the cardboard incident was only the latest in a series of allegations of negligence at KDMC hospitals.

“KDMC hospitals are constantly in the news for negligence in the treatment of patients. There have been numerous incidents in KDMC hospitals, including deaths allegedly caused by the non-availability of vaccines and anti-venom, resulting in the deaths of two girls. There have also been recent incidents involving dog bites and now the use of cardboard to support a fractured leg because POP was allegedly unavailable. These are extreme levels of negligence on the part of the commissioner. As the administrative head, he is responsible for this. We demand his transfer, or he should voluntarily resign. For how many years will they play with the lives of patients?” Patil told HT.

Patil also said he had urged deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde to have the government take over the responsibility of KDMC-run hospitals, alleging that the current administration was incapable of managing them.

The viral video also prompted KDMC mayor Harshali Thavil to visit Rukminibai Hospital on Friday evening and inspect the condition of the facility. During her visit, she reportedly found doctors and staff absent and patients queuing outside closed counters. She reprimanded the staff and warned that they could face suspension if the situation was not improved.

KDMC, however, said its inquiry found that the hospital had sufficient medical supplies and blamed a sanitation worker for allegedly demanding money from the patient’s family.

Dr Deepa Shukla, head and health officer of the KDMC, said, “We came to know about the incident in which our sanitation staffer, identified as Mukesh Pandit, allegedly demanded ₹400 from the patient’s relative. We conducted an inquiry into the matter and found that there is sufficient stock of medical supplies at the hospital.”

Shukla said there had been several previous instances of misconduct by Pandit, including remaining absent from duty and reporting late to work, and that there had been demands for disciplinary action against him.

“As Pandit’s conduct has brought a bad name to the hospital and the KDMC, he has been suspended under section 4 of the Maharashtra Citizen Services Act, 1979, and a departmental inquiry has been ordered against him,” she said.